Brassieres



Jiine 8, 1965 M. A. HERSHON BRASSIERES Filed March 7, 1961 3,187,753 BRASSIERES. Michael Angelo Hershon, 590 George St.', Sydney,

New South Wales, Australia Filed Mar. 7, 1961, Ser. No. 94,019 Claims priority, application Australia, Mar. 7, 1960,

58,161/60 13 Claims. (Cl. 128463) The present invention relates to brassieres andhas for its object the provision of a'cup construction for use in brassieres, which, while simple and easy to manufacture, provides an'excellent supporting and moulding action on the breast.

While one desirable feature of a bust cup for a brassiere is that it should support the breast and mold it to a desired shape, it is also essential that it should do this without involving the use of an undue bulk of material and should also avoid the formation of wrinkles and creases on the external surface of the cup.

A bust cup for a brassiere according to the present invention is constructed from a plurality of sectors of woven or knitted textile or elasticised fabric which are cut and shaped and sewn or otherwise joined together to form a cup of a desired shape and size, there being provided in at least one; sector a piece of reinforcing textile fabric material bonded to the material of the sector by any known bonding process, the reinforcing material covering not more than two thirds of the total area of the sector and preferably not less than one tenth of the area and being shape of the sector Without producing wrinkles or creases, each porion of reinforcing material being separate from any of the others to permit free flexing about seams or joints between the sectors.

The word sector is not used in any strict geometrical sense but means an area contained between seams radiating from the apex of a point near the apex of the cup, and the periphery of the cup.

In order that the invention may be better understood preferred forms thereof are hereinafter described by way of example with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which- FIG. 1 is a front view of a part of a brassiere having cups incorporating the invention,

FIGS. 2 to 6 are diagrammatic representations of the front views of single bust cups showing five alternative forms of the invention and FIG. 7 illustrates the manner in which the reinforcing material is secured to the cup and shows a fragmentary view of the inner face of one sector of one of the cups of FIG. 1.

In the form of construction shown in FIG. 1 each cup 10 of a brassiere is constructed from four separate pieces 11 of material which are joined by seams 12 running vertically and 13 horizontally and crossing at about the midpoint 14 of the cup. The sectors 11 are cut and shaped in a known manner so as to produce, when sewn together along seams 12 and 13, a cup having the desired contours. The cup 10 so formed is secured around the lower portion of its periphery and at each side of the body band 15 of the brassiere in a conventional manner. The cup construction, the subject of the present invention, may be embodied in a very wide variety of forms of brassiere and as the precise manner of attaching it to the body band will vary from construction to construction, it is not necessary to describe this part of the garment in detail.

To the inner face of the material forming each sector of the cup there is sewn a piece of textile fabric reinforcing material 16 (see FIG. 7) which in the present embodiment is in the shape of two petals radiating outwardly from a common centre near the apex of the sector. The material of which the stiffening piece 16 is made is such that it is suitable for bonding by any of the known methods, that is to say, it may consist of material in which either the-warp or the weft is of cellulose acetate and such that when softened with a solvent it can be bonded to the material of the sector by the application of heat and pressure. It should be emphasised that any other form of textile fabric material capable of being bonded may be used. 1

During the manufacture of cups according to the invention the sectors 11 are first cut, the reinforcing pieces 16 sewn to them along seams and the bonding then'effected. The sectors are thereafter sewn together along seams 12 and 13 to form the cup; While the use of petal shaped pieces of reinforcing material has been found to be quite satisfactory, it should be emphasised that other shapes may be used provided that they do not tend to produce wrinkles in the surface of the garment when in use. It has been'found that each reinforcing piece should not cover more than about two thirds of the area of the sector as otherwise the sector becomes too stiff and will not follow the desired contour of the cup, and as shown in the drawing, must be spaced from any other piece to allow free flexing about the seams. It is preferable also that it should cover at least one tenth of the area. The final choice of the size and shape of each reinforcing piece for any particular construction is a matter of experiment.

In the form of the invention shown in FIG. 2 the cup is divided into two sectors 21 and 22 by a ladder. stitch seam 23 passing through the centre of the cup and in the lower sector there is provided a piece of reinforcing material 24 in the shape of two petals radiating upwardly from a point near the edge of the lower sector.

In the form of the invention shown in FIG. 3 there are four sectors 25 separated by diagonal seams 26 and 27 which intersect at the centre of the cup. A pair of pieces of reinforcing material 28 are provided at each side of the cup.

In FIG. 4 the cup is divided into three sectors 31 separated as shown by means of seams 32, there being provided in the two lower sectors 31 pieces of reinforcing material 33.

In FIG. 5 a cup is provided with two sectors 34 joined by means of the ladder stitch seam 35 passing through the centre of the cup. Two reinforcing pieces 36 are provided in the lower part of the cup, one in each of the sectors 34 and arranged as shown in the drawings.

In FIG. 6 the cup is divided into two sectors 37 separated by a ladder stitch seam 38, there being a piece of reinforcing material 39 in each sector.

The general construction of the cups shown in FIGS. 2 to 6, and particularly the method of securing the pieces of reinforcing material, are the same as that described in connection with the form of the invention shown in FIG. 1.

The embodiments of the invention described above are given by way of example only, and as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, a considerable number of embodiments may be readily devised within the scope of the invention as defined broadly in the succeeding claims.

What I claim is:

'1. A bust cup for a brassiere constructed from a plurality of sectors of fabric which are cut and shaped and joined together to form a cup of a desired shape and size, none of said sectors having an area greater than three times that of any other sector, there being provided in at least one sector a piece of reinforcing textile fabric material bonded to the material of the sector by any known bonding process, the piece of reinforcing material covering at least one tenth but not more than two thirds of the total area of the sector to which it is bonded and being shaped so that in use it conforms to the desired shape of the sector without producing wrinkles or creases, each piece of re- 3 1 inforcing material being located in its entirety within the area of the sector to which it is bonded and being separate from any other piece of reinforcing material to permit free flexing a-bout joints between the sectors.

2. A bust cup as claimed in claim 1 having four substantially similar sectors there being in each sector a piece of reinforcing material.

3. A bust cup as claimed in claim '1 wherein each piece of reinforcing material is in the shape of two petals radiating outwardly from a common center near the apex of the sector.

4. A bust cup as claimed in claim 1 having two substantiallysimilar sectors separated by a Substantially horizontal ladder seam passing through the .centre of the cup,

there being in the lower sector a piece of reinforcing materialt 5. A bust cup as claimed in claim 4 wherein the piece of reinforcing material is in the shape of two petals radiating upwardly from a point near the edge of the lower sectOI'; V

6. A bust cup as claimed in claim '1 having four substantially similar sectors joined by diagonal seams, therebeing in each of one pair of opposite sectors a piece of reinforcing material.

7. A bust cupas claimed in claim 6 wherein each piece of reinforcing material is in the shape of two petals radiating outwardly from a common centre near the apex of the cup.

8. A bust cup as claimed in claim .1 having three sectors, an upper sector forming the upper half of the cup joined by a horizontal seam to a lower pair of similar sectors forming thelower half of the cup and separated by a vertical seam radiating from the centre of the cup, there being in each of the lower sectors a piece of reinforcing material.

9. A bust cup as claimed in claim :1 having two sectors, one of which forms approximately three quarters of the cup and the other of which forms the remaining quarter, the sectors being joined by a seam passing through the centre of the cup.

'10. A bust cup as claimed in claim 1 wherein each piece of reinforcing material is in the shape of two petals radiating from a common centre near the lower edge of the cup.

11. A bust cup as claimed in claim 1 having two equal sectors joined by a horizontal seam, there being in each sector apiece of reinforcingjmaterial.

12; A bust cup as claimed in claim 11 wherein each piece of reinforcing material is in the shape of two petals radiating from a common centre near the apex of the cup.

13. A bust cup as claimed in claim 1, in which said piece of reinforcing material is a woven fabric having a group of weft threads and a group of warp threads and in which at least one of said groups of threads is formed from cellulose acetate so that said piece of reinforcing material may be .bonded to the fabric of the sector in which it is located by heat sealing.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,409,089 10/46 Whitman 139-420 2,411,462 11/46 Plehn 128--516 f 2,482,255 9/49 Florsheim 128517 2,604,625 7/52 Gruber 128---477 2,723,397 11/55 Becker 128-477 2,883,988 4/59 Lee 128476 2,976,870 3/61 Verreault .128 -516 LOUIS R. PRINCE, Primary Examiner. ADELE M. EAGER, Examiner. 

1. A BUST CUP FOR A BRASSIERE CONSTRUCTED FROM A PLURALITY OF SECTORS OF FABRIC WHICH ARE CUT AND SHAPED AND JOINED TOGETHER TO FORM A CUP OF A DESIRED SHAPE AND SIZE, NONE OF SAID SECTORS HAVING AN AREA GREATER THAN THREE TIMES THAT OF ANY OTHER SECTOR, THERE BEIN PROVIDED IN AT LEAST ONE SECTOR A PIECE OF REINFORCING TEXTILE FABRIC MATERIAL BONDED TO THE MATERIAL OF THE SECTOR BY ANY KNOW BONDING PROCESS, THE PIECE OF REINFORCING MATERIAL COVERING AT LEAST ONE TENTH BUT NOT MORE THAN TWO THIRDS OF THE TOTAL AREA OF THE SECTOR TO WHICH IT IS BONDED AND BEING SHAPED SO THAT IN USE IT CONFORMS TO THE SESIRED SHAPED OF THE SECTOR WITHOUT PRODUCING WRINKLES OR CREASES, EACH PIECE OF REINFORCING MATERIAL BEING LOCATED IN ITS ENTIRELY WITHIN THE AREA OF THE SECTOR TO WHICH IT IS BONDED AND BEING SEPARATE FROM ANY OTHER PIECE OF REINFORCING MATERIAL TO PERMIT FREE FLEXING ABOUT JOINTS BETWEEN THE SECTORS. 